How Communism took over Chelsea

A bit different theme tonight, worryingly serious even. The title is a bit catchy, ok, but in the perspective of 20 years there is a logical sequence that I feel entitles this bold-ish statement.

A sign that I am not quite a teen, perhaps, anymore but I still remember when the Soviet Union collapsed (no, not in 1970s, but early 1990s;). It should not be considered an excessive claim to say that those in power "adapted" to the new circumstances after the collapse pretty well. Not that they were doing so badly compared to the "normal" Homo Soviticuses.

This Wikipedia entry seems pretty much reliable description of - well - oh those were the days, comrade

• "Membership in the party ultimately became a privilege, with Communist Party members becoming an elite class or nomenklatura in Soviet society. Party members enjoyed many perquisites denied to the average Soviet citizen. Among those perks were shopping at well-stocked stores, access to foreign merchandise, preference in obtaining housing, access to dachas and holiday resorts, being allowed to travel abroad, send their children to the best universities, and obtain prestigious jobs"

Anyway, came the revolution and the much-awaited dawn of capitalism. Russia had what. Ladas (a sort of a car) were luxury in those days. But natural resources. Siberia is vast and the snow and ice act as a blanket to vast quantities of black gold. And there was some infrastructure to extract those. Who got there first?

Not Vladimir or Katjusha who had toiled the past thirty years for the common good ... no shares for them in the the collectives that turned to businesses, were sold at ridiculously low prices or simply grabbed in the ensuing chaos.

And you know what is the irony? Thanks to the Communism we have Chelsea. The exclusive authority in the Premiership football, approaching the apex of the World football. If you are a player, belong there, or do not want to succeed.

Roman Abramovich, the governor of the Chukotka region who owns Britain's Chelsea football club, rose to No. 11 with a net worth of $18.2 billion, up from $14.7 billion last year.


And Roman can enjoy the applause. Not quite like greeting the march of the world's greatest army (in the numbers the Soviet was, now China is bigger) at the Red Square. But Blue is the colour, eh, Roman - or Governator? At least Arnie lives where he rules!

Here you are, thanks to the Russian News and Information Agency (RIA Novosti), those others in the Forbes top 100.

***

Twelve of Russia's super-rich made it into the top 100 this year.

Vagit Alekperov, the chief executive of oil giant Lukoil, ranked No. 37 with $11 billion.

Steel tycoon Vladimir Lisin was No. 41 with $10.7 billion.

Viktor Vekselberg, who co-owns the Russian-British joint venture TNK-BP and the aluminum major SUAL, placed 44th with $10 billion.

Mikhail Fridman, the chairman of investment giant Alfa Group, ranked No. 50 with $9.7 billion.

Aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska was at No. 62 with $7.8 billion, and steel magnate Alexei Mordashov No. 64 with $7.6 billion.

Suleiman Kerimov, owner of Nafta Moskva investment group, debuted at No. 72 with $7.1 billion. Kerimov, whose company has bought a $2 billion stake in Russian natural gas monopoly Gazprom, is one of this year's four Russian newcomers on Forbes' "super-rich list."

Norilsk Nickel key shareholders Vladimir Potanin and Mikhail Prokhorov tied for 89th, with $6.4 billion each.

Vladimir Yevtushenkov, whose holdings range from microchip companies to toy retailers, arrived at No. 93 with $6.3 billion, followed by TNK-BP CEO German Khan, with a net worth of $6.1 billion.

The only Russian woman to appear on this year's list is Yelena Baturina, the owner of a booming construction business and wife of Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov. She ranked 335th with $2.3 billion.

***

It is getting late so I will end the piece with the following anecdote from the Guardian, about Abramovich. A kind of disclaimer if he decided to sue me ... I am not sure he has been a communist at any point of time. This piece can be treated as a sort of histotainment (like edutainment) the author of which has taken some literary freedoms. But let us give the final word to the Guardian, Saturday May 8, 2004.

... "In fact, little of substance is known about Abramovich's wealth other than that he is one of 23 Russian entrepreneurs who took advantage of the privatisation of Russia's state assets in the mid-1990s. This exclusive group now controls 60% of the Russian economy, and their combined wealth amounts to £44.6bn."

Ok, sorry, could not resist ...

Source: http://www.chelsea.no/grfx/terry_trofe.jpg